When the federal government began providing billions of dollars in incentives to push hospitals and physicians to use electronic medical and billing records, the goal was not only to improve efficiency and patient safety, but also to reduce health care costs.

But, in reality, the move to electronic health records may be contributing to billions of dollars in higher costs for Medicare, private insurers and patients by making it easier for hospitals and physicians to bill more for their services, whether or not they provide additional care.

Hospitals received $1 billion more in Medicare reimbursements in 2010 than they did five years earlier, at least in part by changing the billing codes they assign to patients in emergency rooms, according to a New York Times analysis of Medicare data from the American Hospital Directory. Regulators say physicians have changed the way they bill for office...

Jim Lincoln wrote:You know what the Republicans said in the Gilded Age -- vote the way you shot! Hmm, that would mean I would have to take out a lot of Dixicans.

Really there is no doubt our friend Mr. Jim is a liberal democrat, in fact if you do the research (looking at past posts) the only one who is deceived into thinking that Jim is an independent...would be Jim from Lincoln, Nebraska

If you're a left or right extremist you'll love the KJV because it's language has been so muddied by time.

I will say this, I would not be so hard on the Republicans, if they made to a sincere effort to clean up The Record of Republican Corruption If they established procedures and laws to at least to keep their old ways from happening again, then I could think much more kindly towards them.

Jim Lincoln wrote:I really don't care if you call it Socialism or not, the military is a "socialist," idea

I see why you must use the NASB now.

"SOCIALISM: - A theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole." (Dict)

MILITARY: - Defense of nation and its national concerns, allies and convictions of security. Protection of nation. Organised, trained and prepared personnel used by 'the nation' to maintain and establish further its security, protection and borders where seen to be relevant to internal peace for said people.

The soldier is one of the oldest professions in history and begun life with 'kings' 'Lords' etc seeking to protect them and what belonged to them. Long before the daft idea of socialism was encouraged to grow amongst uppity peasants who dared to think of themselves as equal.

I really don't care if you call it Socialism or not, the military is a "socialist," idea. This country found out that paid militias are rather abhorrent. I'm not sure those places that have had private jails are finding them satisfactory either, in carrying out the state's responsibilities.

You forget the Populist movement was started in the Plains states, Nebraska was important in it. For the excesses of the Gilded Age. No, we support what works and farmers for example never had any problem having government help, especially family farmers, You really should listen to, Mike Lofgren -- Independent. It's around 12 minutes long.

It may even take less laws, it might even mean going back to some old ones, q.v., Paul Ryan: â€˜I Agreeâ€™ We Need To Reinstate Glass-Steagall. Apparently there needs to be a way to make sure the law enforcement agencies aren't in bed with the ones who are likely to breaking the law and lining their own pockets.

Anyway, it has been shown the Republican idea of letting plutocracy line their own pockets, is going to be stopped.

No, not really as I pointed out one should get a copy of their medicare bills in either printed or electronic form, and go over them. My brother did that for my mother's --before even better computer filing took place-- and found errors that way.

3. The only States specifically mentioned as having ER doctors whose claims were paid in error were Texas and Oklahoma. Red States.

4. One doctor who favors the electronic records was pointed out as having been in the Bush administration, and he even (horrors)invests in health care companies. No former occupations, or investments, of the critics was given.

Hmmm. "They" wouldn't be supporters of Obama/Obamacare/government control of healthcare, would they?

6. "But others place much of the blame on the federal government for not providing more guidance."

Federal "oversight" and "guidance"

It's a good thing I'm not a conspiracy guy, or I might think the NY Times a Democrat rag deliberately attempting to promote distrust of private healthcare and the doctors within, laying groundwork for more government..uh..guidance.

One way to stop this problem is to double-check the bills and make sure the government is getting bilked, even if you aren't paying anything. You'll generally get a copy of the bills.

By the way, only slightly related, and you should be able to read the whole article from the WSJ, but still of major importance, How to Stop Hospitals From Killing Us Some ideas other than the one of just staying out of them.